# Bleaching my hair blonde, maintenance and care



## jeanarick (Jun 10, 2011)

I get asked quite often what products I use to get my hair so blonde, how do I care for it, what my overall routine is.  So, I thought I'd share my blonding process with you all!  Let me first say that this has been a real trial and error process for me and I did a great amount of damage to my hair when I first started with the blonding process as I was not using the best products for my hair.  That is why it is so short now.  I had to cut a lot of length off to remove the hair that I did the worst damage to while I was figuring out what worked for me.  Here's a picture after the first attempt.





Yes, that is some pretty orange hair!!!  This was obviously not the right product to lift my hair from dark brown to true blonde.  Within a week of this process I processed it again with yet a different product which didn't yield any better results.  Within a week of that I tried a third product, which has ended up being the product I now use to keep my roots up with.  That product is Clairol Born Blonde Maxi.

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​ ​ And this was the final result after giving this product a try:





As you can imagine I did quite a bit of damage to my hair after processing it 3 times within a 2 week period.  In the very beginning I was very smart in the way I cared for my hair and it stayed in great condition.  I had heard about "conditioner washing" for damaged, very thick/coarse hair or ethnic hair and decided to give it a try so that my blonde locks would remain as healthy as possible.  Basically it is exactly what it sounds like, washing your hair with conditioner instead of shampoo.  Now I know what you're thinking, "Oh, gross"! But honestly it really does get my hair very clean without stripping it completely of healthy natural oils.  Shampoo will completely strip the hair of all dirt and oils, even the oils that are good for your hair.  I take a half of a palm full of conditioner and massage it really well into my scalp and throughout my hair and then rinse it really well and thoroughly.  For good measure I also used a light weight leave in conditioner by Garnier and switched it out occasionally with Organix Argan Oil.



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​  ​ This worked absolutely wonderful on my hair and it remained healthy and fabulous.  I couldn't believe that I had done so much to my hair, yet it was beautiful and bouncy.  I don't know if it was a moment of insanity or pure stupidity, but I decided that my hair was just fine and I should go back to shampooing it.  Big mistake, huge mistake, monumental mistake, ok you get the idea, it was a mistake.  Within weeks my hair had major breakage, split ends and visible damage that no styling products could disguise.  Hence my new haircut. 

In this picture you can see how much thinner and yes, shorter my hair had become because of breakage:





The only option I left myself with was to chop it all off.  Now I am back to conditioner washing and leave in treatments and my hair is bouncing back and getting healthier every day.  The best conditioner I've tried and keep going back to is by Tresemme.  It leaves my hair clean and silky feeling.



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Now, about maintenance of my roots.  I still use the Clairol Born Blonde product, but am very careful to only apply it to the new growth at the roots and not spread it to the hair that is already blonde.  The directions don't call for this but I put an inexpensive shower cap over my hair after I've applied the bleach to my roots.  I find it aids in the blonding process as it keeps the natural warmth from your head in and lessens the amount of time that the product needs to stay on the hair which also lessens the amount of damage it can do.  I know it is a hard concept to grasp, not using shampoo, but I am here to tell you that I am a firm believer.  My over-processed hair was in good condition and doing just fine until I picked up that bottle of shampoo. 

Since I've gone back to conditioner washing there has been a noticible difference in the feel and appearance of my hair.  It does take patience and a little getting used to, but is totally worth it.  It does take longer as you have to spend a little extra time massaging the conditioner into the hair to help it break down dirt and styling products and spend a little extra time rinsing to make sure that the dirt and hairspray is rinsed away.  I highly recommend you do what I did and reasearch it on the internet and youtube.  Some people refer to it as "co-washing".  It is the basic principle behind Wen products.  You absolutely do not have to spend that much on a conditioner to achieve the desired results.

​ Here I am today with a much shorter, but healthier 'do.  Please feel free to ask me any questions about my hair care and the products I use and about conditioner washing.


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## Bonnie Krupa (Jun 10, 2011)

Wow, nice tips Jean, you look a completely different person in that first picture!!


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## MakeupofDesire (Jun 10, 2011)

I don't think I could go without using shampoo in my hair.  I also have dark brown hair naturally and bleach it blonde at the salon.  I use salon hair products only!  My hair is beautiful and healthy, shiny, bouincy and full of life.  I use my regular conditioner, a deep tx conditioner that I leave in for 5-10mins in the shower and then rinse out, then I have a leave in conditioner and I also use Bio-Silk.  So there are a lot more steps than what you go through, but I like my routine.  If anyone is interested in what brands I use, just ask and I will let you know!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I'm glad you found what works best for you b/c your hair looks BEAUTIFUL!  I love  your hair cut short, you look so fresh and young!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  You also chose a very nice color of blonde.  It's not quite platinum or white and it it's not yellow either.  Very nice!  When I tried to used a color lifter and not bleach, my hair turned yellow and brassy.  So I have to use bleach to get the "whiter" blonde.  I don't have white/platinum blonde either, but it's very light.  I'm glad you shared your story and regimen with us.  I'm sure it can teach some that would otherwise make the same mistake and fry their hair!  Thanks again and God bless!


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## AmyNxDx (Jun 10, 2011)

I was one of those that asked you about your hair  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Because I love it!! Thanks for this soo much. I never thought about not using shampoo. I'll have to give this a try and see how it works for me. I would love to have all my hair blonde, platinum blonde. I used to have it very blonde but I fried it  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Yours looks great!!


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## llehsal (Jun 11, 2011)

Oh Jeanie, this is awsome!!!  I went through the same thing when I relaxed my then natural hair.  I definitely did NOT do enough research and that turned into a disaster.  Hair like mine needs ALOT of moisture and I neglected that soooo much.  Even when I was natural, my hair grew and looked sooo healthy, but it was not due to me not caring for it properly.  When the damage was done, I went from product to product to product.  Testing everything.  Eventually, I decided to go back to my natural hair and this time, treat it better.  So like you I don't shampoo my hair often.  When I do, it's just to get whatever build up that's there, out of it.  I use shampoo that has no sulphates so my hair doesn't dry out.  These include cheapies like Suave and VO5.  I also have a colour in my hair which included me bleaching my hair first.  So I use only moisturizing conditioners and deep conditioners.  The co-washing works wonders!!!!  I also use olive, jojoba and carrot oils.  As you said, it's alot of work, but it's worth it in the end.


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## Dragonfly (Jun 11, 2011)

I am always so darn tempted to co-wash. I love hearing testimonials regarding it.

Jean, I have a few questions - what conditioner (s) do you use and do you use a gel?

Also, how ofter do you have to co-wash?

I go 4 or even 5 days without washing my hair - shampoo and condition.

I always believed that one had to co-wash daily or else that oils and dirt would build up enough and a conditioner couldn't clean enough.

Thanks


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## jeanarick (Jun 11, 2011)

I'm so glad you guys are finding this information useful! Dragonfly, I use Tresemme Thermal Recovery conditioner and I love it. I've tried several other brands and keep coming back to this one because it gets my hair really clean and leaves it super soft. I wash every other day. I agree with you that every four or five days may not work well. I do recommed giving it two to four weeks to give your hair time to adjust to the change and see if you like the results. I don't use gel or mousse but do use a root booster occasionally and hair spray almost every day.


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## Brittany Hooks (Feb 22, 2012)

Hello I am in the same boat as you i were in the first picture and i was wondering how long you left the Born Blonde Maxi on?


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## sweethart67 (May 17, 2013)

I love your new color....I tried about 9 years ago to bleach my medium brown hair to a medium blonde on my own with Clairol Born Blond and Clairol Hydriance natural blonde hair color and ended up with orange hair...after paying $100 dollars to my favorite stylist I walked out of the salon a week later with the dark ash blonde with golden tones hair you see below. I was unhappy with the color and my husband and 3 sons were less than enthusiastic about the amount of time and $$$ I was planning to spend each month at the salon...so back I went to my brunette hair color. But I have always regretted not looking for easier, more inexpensive ways to keep my hair blonde and achieve the blonde color my heart desired. I miss it and thank you for posting your story. It has inspired me to give it another try.


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## marrymemakeup (May 17, 2013)

> Originally Posted by *jeanarick* /img/forum/go_quote.gif


 You looks very good in first two pics but the last 2 pics are not so good.


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## kl1234 (Jun 30, 2013)

Hello! I was wondering if you had any pre existing dye on your hair before you went through the bleaching process? Thanks!


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## Jaydeetc (Jul 1, 2013)

Thanks for this! Had never even thought of not using shampoo. My hair feels like straw after shampoo but lovely after conditioner, may have to start giving the shampoo a miss from now on! I only really use heat protectant, coconut oil and dry shampoo in my hair, so missing out shampoo may not be such a bad idea. May save money on toner too! 

Do you have a picture of your root-colour? and do you have dry/greasy/etc hair naturally?

I want to find something less harsh than the 30vol + powder bleach I'm using for mine at the moment, and that seems to lift a fair bit!

Thanks!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## sweethart67 (Sep 8, 2013)

I love your final color...noticed you have dark golden blonde hair now....I am planning to color my hair again...any suggestions would be appreciated. The last time left me discouraged...I hate salons and like doing it myself...just not making mistakes. Oh my avatar is a pic of my friend from California...she goes to a salon, however I choose not to. But thought her cut and color were so great that I cut my hair in the same pixie cut this week...trying to gain the confidence to go for the same platinum color as hers pictured here. Thanks, Anita


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